THE country’s constitutional monarchy which sees the nine hereditary sultans from each state elect from among themselves a Yang di-Pertuan Agong for a five-year term makes Malaysia a very unique country in terms of operational governance.
There are various checks and balances provided by the legislature, executive and the judiciary branches of the government, along with the Conference of Rulers and Agong which provide the necessary ingredients to administer and govern from the onslaught of politicians with their self and passion to be one heroes instantly.
The recent incident which saw socks bearing the word “Allah” being sold at KK Mart outlets is regrettable and should not have taken place in the first instance, as the supplier is also responsible for producing the materials.
The incident had then led to a call by politicians to boycott KK Mart, thus capitalising on the sensitivity of the issue.
KK Mart is a local domestic grocery chain not an international chain. The people who are going to be affected by this incident are local Malaysians who are employed by KK Mart and their families, not some foreign companies or foreigners outside the country.
It needs to be handled with care in a civilised manner through court proceedings or in any other means appropriate without resorting to boycotts to create political mileage which would only end up indirectly hurting the country’s economy.
Politicians should not be looking out for sensitive issues to make a mountain of molehill as this is not definitely a Malaysian way of life. Any form of negative sensitive issues emerging are observed by the whole world in terms of how we handle them before it spreads like wildfire.
If it is handled humanely in a civilised and matured way the world will applaud, if not the image of Malaysia will be tarnished and it will affect our economy directly or indirectly.
In the future, let us handle each sensitive issue in a civilised manner whereby the whole world will applaud us. Violence, harassment and boycotts on the domestic front will only hurt Malaysia not the rest of the world.
It is also high time that the government legislate or amend existing laws to reprimand the responsible quarters in order to prevent the antics of politicians who are acting for their own survival and political mileage. – March 18, 2024
KT Maran,
Seremban, Negri Sembilan
The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Focus Malaysia.
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